Bodega Byways by Eva Granahan - May 2018

What a lovely spring we’re having, perfect balance of sunshine and water.

When Bill was a 20-year-old at Yale University, his father died. He graduated, married, moved to San Francisco to attend the Art Institute, then used his inheritance to buy the 320-acre ranch on Coleman Valley Road in 1965. He kept the property for over 50 years and died there.

Upon the demise of the nearby commune, Morning Star, in 1968 Wheeler opened his ranch to the displaced residents and other people in need. There has been an effort for the Bodega Land Trust to take stewardship of the first property, though Morning Star is now just up for sale. The Wheeler Ranch sustained itself effectively until the health and building inspectors, county sheriffs, and federal agents came down hard like they had before, and it was shut down in 1973.

The book“Home Free Home: A Complete History of Two Open Land Communities,” edited by Ramon Sender Barayon, came out in 2017. There is a very interesting history of both Morning Star and Wheeler Ranch. Also last year there was a featured exhibit called “The Hippies” for 10 months at the West County Museum in Sebastopol. Bill was a community figure and attended the show’s closing reunion with fellow hippies.

Bill Wheeler was well known for his beautiful paintings. He toured with three others in the “Sonoma Four” plein air painting group. He also worked closely with the Western Sonoma County Rural Alliance. He was born June 17, 1940 and passed January 16, 2018. He will surely be missed.

The culture that formulated around communally living off the land, is the hippie lifestyle that has never truly died—which you can see evidence of in our alternative west Sonoma County. On the ranch, they were involved in the women’s movement, environmental movement, organic food, alternative medical practices, and spirituality including Vipassana (meditation), Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and Native American religions. Some of the key principles that have stuck are love, the freedom to be, art for the sake of community, open space preservation, equality and equity for all.

Bodega’s Artisans’ Co-op is holding a showcase of painters on May 12th. The Co-op is located at17175 Bodega Hwy Bodega, CA 94922. The sale is 11am-5pm, with demonstrations from 1-3pm and a reception from 4-6pm. There will be a free raffle!

The Bodega Volunteer Fire Department is holding a pancake breakfast onSunday May 20th, 7:30am-12pm. It will be happening at McCaughey Hall, 17184 Bodega Hwy Bodega, CA 94922.

I hope everyone has their bright lime green ribbons on and are wearing them proudly because it is mental health awareness month! Start conversations and listen to each other about mental health. California’s Mental Health Movementcan be found at EachMindMatters.org.